Pumpkin Pie Bars

I made these last year – Jim requested them again

Pumpkin Pie Bars- Quick & Easy

My note on this recipe page says, “EXCELLENT – make it again!”

Tastes like pumpkin pie with a slight crunch– if you don’t want to make pie crust- this is so EASY- we couldn’t wait for it to set up in the refrigerator last night, so we had a slice while it was hot – So Yummy.

I’ll add my tips at the bottom of this post

1 can (29 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

1 can (12oz.) evaporated milk

1 ½ cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 pkg butter recipe golden cake mix (regular size)

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup chopped pecans

Whipped topping, optional

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients, beat on medium speed until smooth. Pour into an ungreased 13 x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix. Drizzle butter over top, sprinkle with pecans.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Here in Indiana, 50 minutes was enough time) Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Cut into bars. If desired, serve with whipped topping.

Note: I was trying to decide on a butter pecan cake mix or a spice cake mix – I chose the pecan cake mix last year, which was excellent; and this year, I used a butter yellow cake mix because it was a great price, and this tastes amazing. I believe the spice cake mix which is on the shelves now would be really good in this as well. This will definitely hold its shape after sitting in the refrigerator, because it did while hot. This will be a great breakfast treat. This picture shows how it held it’s shape while still hot

My tips: Do not worry about sprinkling too much cake mix on at the beginning (the bag is very full and that happens); don’t worry, don’t ‘fix’ it, because you’ll soon catch up to that height/level of cake mix on the entire pan due to using the entire mix. The next tip: let this sit -it’s gooey, and it holds the shape soon after baking, but depending on where you live, it might need to be in the refrigerator – it’s the perfect consistency for cutting.

TOH Fall Baking 2015 special issue

The house smells like fall is baking in the kitchen